Recent nuclear magnetic resonance studies of magnetically ordered rare
earth-3d transition metal alloys are reviewed. Selected experimental
results for rare earth NMR of RETM2 Laves phases as well as RE2TM14B a
nd interstitially modified RE(2)TM(17)A(x) (A=N,C,H) materials for per
manent magnet applications are surveyed. An analysis of the hyperfine
parameters obtained from NMR experiments is presented and their relati
on to the physical properties of individual atomic sites is discussed.
In particular, information from hyperfine fields about the influence
of light interstitial atoms on the RE-TM magnetic coupling is analysed
and compared to the results of magnetisation and neutron measurements
. The relation of quadrupole splitting to the spectroscopic state of t
he rare earth, the magnetic structure and the individual site contribu
tions to the magnetocrystalline anisotropy is analysed. The applicabil
ity of NMR to the study of multiphase magnetic materials for technolog
y is briefly discussed. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science S.A.